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Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Canada, Europeans and Brazil, not US, issue statement backing LGBT rights
WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - The foreign ministries of Canada, Australia, Brazil and a host of European countries issued a statement on Saturday celebrating LGBT rights to coincide with Pride Day. The United States, which has moved rapidly to dismantle civil rights protections since the election of President Donald Trump, was not among its signatories. The statement, whose backers also include Spain, Belgium, Colombia, Ireland and other nations, said the countries "are speaking and acting as one to champion the rights of LGBTQI people," using the abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people. "At a time when hate speech and hate crimes are on the rise, and in view of efforts to strip LGBTQI people of their rights, we reject all forms of violence, criminalization, stigmatization or discrimination, which constitute human rights violations," the statement said. It was not immediately clear why the United States was absent. Canadian, Australian, Brazilian, Irish and U.S. officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the Pride Day statement and Washington's absence from it. The U.S., once a champion of gay rights abroad, has reversed course under Trump, whose administration has rapidly dismantled longstanding civil rights protections for LGBT people and expelled transgender servicemembers from the military. Defenders of gay rights are concerned that the backsliding will embolden anti-gay movements, opens new tab elsewhere, especially in Africa, where it could worsen an already difficult situation for LGBT people. Trump's right-wing allies have tapped in to anti-LGBT sentiment to shore up their political support. In Hungary on Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters flouted a law passed in March by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government that allows for the ban of Pride marches. The demonstrators swarmed Budapest with rainbow-colored flags in one of the biggest shows of opposition to the Hungarian leader.
CBS News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pride Month display at NYC's Stonewall National Monument excludes transgender flags
The transgender flags that usually adorn the Stonewall National Monument in New York City during Pride Month were missing this year, so some New Yorkers are taking matters into their own hands. This comes as the National Park Service is accused of actively erasing transgender visibility and history. "It's a terrible action for them to take" During June, Pride flags are placed around the park's fence. They usually include a mixture of rainbow LGBTQ+ flags, transgender flags and progress flags, which have stripes to include communities of color. Photographer and advocate Steven Love Menendez said he created and won federal approval for the installation nine years ago. Within a few years, the National Park Service was picking up the tab, buying and installing flags, including trans ones. Pride flags fly in the wind at the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan's West Village on June 19, 2023 in New York year, however, Menendez said the National Park Service told him to change the protocol. "I was told ... only the traditional rainbow flag would be displayed this year," he said. Now, no transgender or progress flags are among the 250 rainbow flags installed around the park. "It's a terrible action for them to take," Menendez said. Earlier this year, the National Park Service removed references to transgender and queer people from the Stonewall National Monument's website. "I used to be listed as an LGBTQ activist, and now it says 'Steven Menendez, LGB activist,'" Menendez said. "They took out the Q and the T." "I'm not going to stand by and watch us be erased from our own history" Many visiting the monument said they are opposed to the change. "I think it's absurd. I think it's petty," said Willa Kingsford, a tourist from Portland. "It's horrible. They're changing all of our history," Los Angeles resident Patty Carter said. Jay Edinin, of Queens, brought his own transgender flag to the monument. "I'm not going to stand by and watch us be erased from our own history, from our own communities, and from the visibility that we desperately need right now," he said. The transgender flags that usually adorn the Stonewall National Monument in New York City during Pride Month were missing this year, so some New Yorkers are taking matters into their own hands. CBS News New York He is not the only one bringing unauthorized flags to the park. A number of trans flags were seen planted in the soil. National Park Service workers at the park told CBS News New York they are not authorized to speak on this subject. CBS News New York reached out by phone and email to the National Park Service and has not yet heard back.
